The David Martinez Band headlines free Saturday concert at the Executive Surf Club

February 14th, 2013 admin

By Richard Guerrero/Special to the Caller-Times

Singer-songwriter David Martinez’s second studio effort may surprise fans of the acoustic guitar pop that was his modus operandi on his debut album.

Now seven years into a music career that began in earnest in 2005, Martinez released a seven-song CD-EP, “One More Time,” in December and plans to spend much of the year supporting the new mini-album.

The David Martinez Band, which includes lead guitarist Jose Garza, bassist Damian Diaz and drummer Johnny Ramos Jr., returns to the Executive Surf Club Saturday for a headlining slot; singer-songwriter Mark Martinez is set to open the show.

As with his eponymous debut effort that was released in 2009, Martinez traveled to Hollywood to track “One More Time” with producer Leroy Miller. The pair’s friendship began when Martinez contacted Miller via Myspace in 2006 shortly before Martinez was due to launch a tour with fellow singer-songwriters Jimmy Willden and Hope Cassidy.

“I called him up and he met us at Jerry’s Famous Deli in West Hollywood. We talked and he was real cool. And that’s where our friendship began,” Martinez said. “He’s been signed to Geffen and Hollywood Records and also played with Smashmouth for a couple of years.”

For Martinez’s debut album, Miller brought in session players including former Black Crowes keyboardist Adam MacDougall. The experience, Martinez recalled, was intimidating to say the least.

With the first record I was a little green. I had recorded before but not at that level. I worked with a lot of seasoned vets on the first record — it was like jumping into the fire,” Martinez said. “This time around I was a little more experienced. So it was a little easier.”

For “One More Time,” Martinez and Miller chose to handle all of the instrumentation for the project themselves. The pair tracked six of the seven tracks at Miller’s home studio in July; Martinez recorded the track “Hey Mary” with Miller in Nashville in 2010.

While the first album runs heavy with the folksy acoustic guitar-driven pop he perfected as a solo act, “One More Time” reveals Martinez’s rock roots.

“With the first record, I did a couple of (guitar) leads on electric and that was about it,” Martinez said. “With this record, I still did acoustic but I played more electric — I took my Les Paul model out to Los Angeles and so we did some electric guitar.”

While Martinez’s career as a singer-songwriter is gaining steam, he continues to take great pride in his long-standing day job — teaching middle-school kids about technology and math.

A self-described ‘math nerd,’ the veteran Corpus Christi Independent School District instructor holds a bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. He’s taught at Hamlin Middle School for the past nine years and also taught students at King High School and Alice High School.

Martinez said colleagues and students alike have been supportive, even if there’s a slight generation gap between the singer-songwriter and some of his younger fans.

“A few kids have told me that they’ve gone to Disc Go Round to buy the first album,” Martinez said. “They think it’s really cool. I had one kid say to me, ‘I don’t like your kind of music but I know good music when I hear it.”

Beyond his Surf Club date, Martinez plans stay busy promoting “One More Time.” He’s performing at a South by Southwest showcase — his fourth appearance at the highly-regarded Austin music festival — at Roadhouse Rags on March 10.

He’s also making plans for some summer traveling.

“This summer, I’m hoping to play the East Coast — I’ve never hit the East Coast, I’ve only done the West Coast,” Martinez said. “People really like Texas musicians so we plan on getting out there and making some new fans.”